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23-year-old Menard, who won the title last August
by stopping Ghanaian Joseph Laryea in four rounds,
was making his first defense and didn’t get a
walkover-opponent in the skilled and tough
challenger Smith (25) from Las Vegas.
This was Menard´s third straight fight at the
Evangeline Downs, and, as has become custom, his
many loyal fans turned up to support.
And the support from his fans may have played a
big factor in the champions ability to dig deep to
grind out the victory in what turned out to be a
brutal fight.
Both boxers put on excellent, gritty performances,
but Menard seemed to land a more in most rounds
and often appeared to be spurred on by the cheers
from the crowd.
After twelve fast-paced rounds of boxing, the
judges scored the bout 117-109, 115-110 and
119-107 in favor of Menard, who improved his
professional record to 20-1 (14).
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